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Catch-22

State slashes funding of program for mentally retarded who are 22 or older

By Chris Camire, ccamire@lowellsun.com

Updated:
08/04/2009 11:57:18 AM EDT

BILLERICA -- Joe Micalizzi is a lanky 21-year-old with closely cropped brown hair and a left eyebrow that arches toward the sky when he concentrates.

The eldest of Mark and Patricia Micalizzi's two children, Joe suffers from Fragile X syndrome, the second-leading cause of mental retardation, after Down syndrome. He cannot read, write or drive a car.

Joe began attending Billerica public schools at 15 months old. On Sept. 28, his 22nd birthday -- when students are no longer able to receive public special education -- the Micalizzis had planned to enroll Joe in a state-funded program for adults with mental retardation, known as Turning 22.

But it now appears that the Micalizzis, and other families in their situation, are going to be forced to make do without that support system due to a lack of state money. They were recently informed that Turning 22 would not accept Joe because $2.7 million is expected to be cut from the program's $7 million budget in fiscal 2010.

"For 20 years, we've been telling him, 'If you work hard, you can be a productive member of society,'" Mark Micalizzi said. "Now he's turning 22, and we're telling him, 'There's nothing for you to do.'"

Many young disabled people such as Joe have received services from the state from a very young age. Since 1984, the Turning 22 program has provided funding to allow the mentally retarded to work small jobs for little pay, while keeping socially active, as they transition into adulthood.

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After Joe graduated from Billerica Memorial High School in 2006 with a certificate of attendance, he enrolled in a work program at the Merrimack Education Collaborative. For about 12 hours each week, Joe works in the stock room at TJ Maxx in Chelmsford, organizing clothes and unloading shipping trucks.

His pay isn't much -- about $40 per week. But under the supervision of a job coach, Joe and other young men and women are able to build social skills and be productive, said his parents.

The Micalizzis were hoping the Turning 22 program would allow Joe to keep working.

"These guys can't do minimum-wage work competitively because they can't accomplish as much in an hour," Mark Micalizzi said. "In this program, they do what they can and get paid for what they can do. They can't go out and find competitive work because they don't have the skills."

The Micalizzis are urging legislators to provide at least $7.7 million for the Turning 22 program for the mentally retarded who turn 22 this year, as well as for the 628 people currently enrolled in the program.

Jennifer Kritz, spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the department that runs Turning 22, said in an e-mail that the state remains committed to minimizing the impact of budget reductions on consumers and their families.

"They will receive service coordination along with information and referral to general community and MassHealth services," Kritz wrote. "At this point, we are enrolling eligible consumers to MassHealth-funded day habilitation services. We have also identified limited emergency funding for people turning 22 who need residential care."

State Rep. Bill Greene, a Billerica Democrat, said he plans to look into the status of the Turning 22 program this week, but added that many worthwhile programs will fall victim to the governor's pen.

"The budget for this year was not the best by any means, and an awful lot of things have been cut from it," Greene said. "I'm not in agreement for what happened in the budget, and I didn't vote for it as a result."

The Micalizzis have scouted several MassHealth programs since learning Joe will not be accepted into Turning 22, but they said the programs do not offer the component most valuable to Joe -- the opportunity to work a job.

"He wants to be a productive member of society," Mark Micalizzi said. "He enjoys a paycheck. The amount of money he makes isn't as important as the fact he gets a check and can bring it home."

The Micalizzis have seen Joe's social skills improve by leaps and bounds since entering MEC's work program. They fear that without the chance to continue working, that progress will stop.

"My hope," Patricia Micalizzi said, "is that some day he might, with some training, be able to get on a bus and go to a job without any help from anyone else."

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